When discussing solutions to problems like teen pregnancy, the important contributions to be made by supportive family relationships are often overlooked. Research repeatedly discloses that parental engagement from early childhood through adolescence is a crucial factor in the prevention of teen pregnancy.
Teen Pregnancy and TV: The Good, The Bad and the Reality
Gina Stepp's conversation with Bill Albert (chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy) leads to a discussion of the roles that family and media play in teen pregnancy rates.
Like the Arms of an Octopus
According to researcher Thomas J. Hoffman, family dysfunctions are "like the arms of an octopus." In this interview with Vision's Gina Stepp, Hoffman discusses some of the ways these family dysfunctions reach out to strangle children, leading in many cases to outcomes such as teen pregnancy.
Taking a Pregnant Pause in the Blame Game
Finding solutions to problems like teen pregnancy is not about assigning blame. Nor is it true that if one factor is found to be a contributor to the problem, the other proffered factors are therefore innocent of any effect. In fact, uncovering the origins of any problem requires examining each of the relevant influences in the wider context of how the factors interrelate.
Teen Pregnancy: One Is a Tragedy, Thousands Only a Statistic
Teen pregnancy statistics can be very misleading and making sense of them is somewhat like assigning meaning to tea leaves: they can say almost whatever you want them to say. No matter how one looks at them, however, the important role that strong family relationships play in reducing them cannot be exaggerated.
Teen Pregnancy: Home Remedies
The nations that currently lead the Western world in teen pregnancy statistics are not ignoring their considerable problems, but the responsibility doesn't rest on government agencies alone. Studies show that strong family relationships play an important role in reducing the risk of teen pregnancy on the individual level.
Kids Parenting Kids
As parents and teachers know—but many teens don't—parenthood is not all fun and games and cuddly babies who chortle happily in their prams.
Child-Development Illiteracy: A Growing Problem?
The first needs of human beings include cuddling, healthy touch and gentle, affectionate stimulation. Unfortunately, parental "literacy" in child-development has declined in recent decades, and as a result, too many children suffer the consequences of complete neglect or from high doses of the wrong kind of stimulation.
The Lost Relationship: Fathers and Daughters
Linda Nielsen, interviewed by Vision’s Gina Stepp, is a psychologist and professor of adolescent psychology and women’s studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Author of Embracing Your Father: How to Build the Relationship You Always Wanted with Your Dad (2004), Nielsen also teaches a “Fathers and Daughters” course, the only one of its kind in the United States for nearly 20 years.
Like Father, Like . . . Daughter?
Society is beginning to admit that a father is important to a boy’s well-being, but the question of how important fathers are to the well-being of their daughters has all but been ignored.
New Study Explores Adolescent Expectations About Marriage
Vision looks at a new study that explores teen expectations about marriage and views on cohabitation.
RELATED LINKS
Tell Me More
NPR assembles a group of experts to discuss the family aspect of the Gloucester "pregnancy pact." How do parents and communities "step up to the plate" to educate themselves about "what it means to raise a child . . . and how to teach your child to raise a child"? Included in this panel are pediatrician Dr. Marilyn Corder and Laura Sessions Stepp, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Washington Post.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
This is a comprehensive site containing extensive research and statistics pointing out the risks and costs of teen pregnancy; not only as the issue relates to teen mothers and their children, but also to families and communities. The site also contains publications targeting prevention education for teen boys and young men.
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